SC dismisses petition vs. Manila garbage fee hike

The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed a petition questioning the Manila City Ordinance No. 9151, which increased garbage collection fees in Manila, after ruling that the petitioner lacked legal standing to challenge the measure.

In a resolution, the high court sitting en banc junked the petition filed by public school teacher John Barry Tayam against Francisco Domagoso and the Manila City Council.

The tribunal ruled that Tayam failed to demonstrate a direct and personal stake in the ordinance because he is not a resident of Manila and does not operate any business in the city. 

Records showed that Tayam lives in Las Piñas, placing him outside the scope of those affected by the regulation.

According to the court, the ordinance applies only to businesses, service agencies, and residents within Manila, meaning Tayam is not directly impacted by the garbage collection fees imposed under the measure.

Because of this, the court said Tayam could not properly challenge the ordinance before the high tribunal.

The petition sought to nullify the city ordinance, which updated Manila’s garbage collection fees for the first time since 2013. The measure was approved by the Manila City Council in November 2025 and later signed by Domagoso in December of the same year.

Tayam had argued that the ordinance was invalid because it was allegedly approved without proper publication, which he said violated provisions of the Civil Code of the Philippines and the Local Government Code of 1991.

He also claimed that the increase exceeded the actual cost of waste regulation and ran contrary to the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

However, the high court rejected these arguments and said the case could not be treated as a taxpayer’s suit, explaining that the garbage collection fees imposed under the ordinance are regulatory in nature rather than a tax measure.

The tribunal also denied Tayam’s appeal on the grounds of transcendental importance and noted that the petition improperly bypassed the lower courts, violating the hierarchy of courts.

The court added that issues raised in the petition, including questions on the ordinance’s publication and the reasonableness of the garbage collection fees, involve factual matters that a regional trial court should first examine.

With the petition dismissed, the Manila ordinance revising garbage collection fees remains in effect.